Season 1 – Ep 12 Innocent Late Night Visits
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[Karen]
In the last episode, Fan Xian and Wan’Er finally meet face to face and their true identities are unveiled. She is his chicken leg girl and also his betrothed. How amazing is that! Fan Xian sneaks to see Wan’Er at night but she, rightfully, is skeptical of his intentions and who he truly is. After clearing the air by showing her he IS Fan Xian with his horrific handwriting, Wan’Er is able to giggle that Fan Xian and the man she’s been searching for is the same.
The episode opens with one of Wan’Er’s mom’s maids checking in on Wan’Er to see if anything is amiss. Ling’Er is a little worried trying to cover up for Wan’Er but she is able to breathe a sigh of relief when they see Wan’Er sleeping in her bed and Fan Xian no where to be found.
Turns out, Fan Xian hid under the covers in bed next to Wan’Er. Ling’Er gets embarrassed seeing him there and rushes out. Wan’Er is also blushing furiously and urges Fan Xian to leave as well.
[Cathy]
Fan Xian is just over the moon and expresses how lucky he is that the person that he likes is the same person as his betrothed. He clears the air that he doesn’t have anything to do with Si Li Li and made all that ruckus in the past in order to have his engagement cancelled so that he could be with his chicken leg girl. Even if his dad opposed, he would just run away with her and steal a bunch of chicken legs for her. Awww. How sweet. Any girl hearing that would be pleased.
The cuteness continues as Fan Xian tells a story to Wan’Er because she said “no” to his request of constantly coming to visit her. It’s a kinda sad story basically describing what you could miss out on in life relationship-wise if you say No and while he’s trying to impart this wisdom on her, she gets caught up in the details of this story about whether or not the man and woman were separately married and the mechanics of openly seeking love/marriage. She’s adorable in her seriousness while Fan Xian tries to grapple with how to better explain this to her. He’s getting flustered to keep her smiling while she giggles at his attempts. At the end, He tells her he will help cure her tuberculosis and leaves her to rest as both of them once again express how fortunate they are.
[Karen]
Poor Ling’Er, she’s left outside in the cold for the night to watch over Wan’er who evidently forgot she was outside. Only comment there is gosh, way to leave your sister out in the dust for a boy! The next morning, Ling’Er checks in on Wan’Er who tries to explain the whole mixup in identities and that the guy IS Fan Xian. Ling’er, who evidently caught a cold from being outside all night, is skeptical of Wan’Er’s explanation particularly in regards with Fan Xian’s connection with Si Li Li so Ling”er decides to question Si Li Li herself. What a good friend! Even though she’s still also sneezing, Ling’Er rushes off to ensure her friend Wan’Er isn’t duped by a guy!
Meanwhile, the Princess Royal, Wan’Er’s mother, summons to see Wan’Er. This Princess knows full well that the doctor who went to see Wan’Er yesterday was Fan Xian but just asks if the doctor was good. She was definitely hoping to hear if Wan’Er realized the doctor was Fan Xian. In any case, she continues that it’s looking likely they’ll be able to remove the engagement and this is where Wan’Er’s poor lying skills are on full display. She is not nearly as eager as she was in the past to get this engagement canceled and her mother is able to pick up on the smallest details in her responses. The Princess Royal is easily able to deduce that Wan’Er HAS met Fan Xian and now has him in her heart. While the Princess Royal doesn’t say anything further and allows Wan’Er to leave, we can guess that the Princess Royal is not pleased with this turn of events.
[Cathy]
Back at the Fan Manor, Fan Xian is having a great morning and even makes like his version of a mcdonald’s egg mcmuffin? Using manto to create a sandwich with fried eggs and some type of sauce which I don’t think is very Chinese. Teng Zi Jing is over there helping grind soy beans to make soy milk. Fan Xian gets a visit from Li Hong Cheng and is told that the second prince wants to have an audience with him the next day. Location? None other than Si Li Li’s place.
Speaking of, Ling’Er is on her way to see SI Li Li. On Si Li Li’s boat, she sees bodies of 2 maids which shocks her. INside the boat, she sees Si Li Li give a placard to a mysterious man and when she sees the man’s face, she is shocked. Unfortunately, she sneezes at that exact moment which alerts the people inside the room. She has no option but to run for her life and jumps in the water to escape. There is a bit of continuity error there because the bodies of the maids on the deck of the boat are no where to be found.
[Karen]
It’s night and Fan Xian decides to visit Wan’ER once again. He gets called out by Teng Zi Jing because Fan Xian is going to see her at night, dressed in black. Despite being engaged, that’s still probably not a good thing for him to visit. He dismisses Teng Zi Jing’s worries by saying that he will be going as Wan‘Er’s doctor. After all, he did spend quite some time today brewing medicine for Wan’er. He also put together a perfume of sorts that he powders on himself which he thinks Wan’Er will like but Teng Zi Jing just thinks he now smells like a 5 spice duck dish. Lol
Funnily enough, that’s exactly what Wan’Er thinks. Fan Xian arrives through the window and she’s like, did you eat a 5 spice duck? He immediately starts patting off some of the powder and adamantly denies it. Ha. He is pleased to see her but she, once again, has her guard up as to why he has to visit her late at night. She questions why he has to visit her when they are already engaged and will have plenty of time to interact in the future. Hey, in my opinion, all valid questions. He quickly states that he is here with medicine for her. Pleased that he spent all this time boiling this special medicine for her, she doesn’t hesitate to swig it all down. After all, she trusts him!
[Cathy]
Except, there probably was something in the medicine that doesn’t mesh well with her body because she instantly becomes drowsy, but then becomes overheated and loud and starts running to open the windows and shouting out of them. Fan Xian was definitely dealt a handful as he tries to calm her down.
He settles her down in bed and it’s almost like she’s drunk. He tells her stories and she only vaguely responds. Fan Xian surprisingly does feel comfortable enough in opening up to Wan’ER in her drowsy state, telling her his secret that he’s from another world and that he is extremely lonely in this one. He shares that he thought he was just an extra person in this world with no one he really wanted to talk to or listen to. He felt very alone, until he met her. She, at least has given some meaning to his life.
[karen]
I do feel a bit bad at this moment because she sits up, seemingly to have heard him pour his heart out but she only just says “Who Are You” before falling back asleep. Aww, that’s so sad. I’m sure he was a little let down by this but he doesn’t really react. He tucks her into bed and leaves, jumping for joy in the streets because he now has meaning to his life.
The next day, Fan Xian prepares for his meeting with the Second Prince and Si Li Li. This last conversation is just full of foreshadowing as Fan Xian tells a worried Ruo Ruo not to think too much because it isn’t like someone is going to kill him in broad daylight. Teng Zi Jing is also quite happy today because his son finally called him dad and he thinks they have plenty of time to build a better relationship in the future. Along this journey, Fan Xian even thinks he’ll return to Dan Zhou after marrying Wan’Er because he ultimately is a lazy person and doesn’t have grand aspirations. He even would like Teng Zi Jing and his family to join him in Dan Zhou so they can be neighbors. If only this plan came to fruition…
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[Cathy]
Let’s move onto pop culture references and historical references in the episode! We’ll talk about them in chronological order in the drama.
The first one is the phrase 执子之手，与子偕老 that Fan Xian leaves behind in his own chicken scratch for Lin Wan Er.
This line is a classic line that has been around for over 2500 years. This specific poem is called, 击鼓 or Beating Drums from the the kingdom of 邶. This poem was compiled in Shi Jing. In English, this anthology is known as Classic of Poetry, Book of Songs, or Book of Odes. This is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. It is considered one of the 5 Classics by Confucius.
The full poem is as such
击鼓其镗，踊跃用兵。土国城漕，我独南行。
从孙子仲，平陈与宋。不我以归，忧心有忡。
爰居爰处？爰丧其马？于以求之？于林之下。
死生契阔，与子成说。执子之手，与子偕老。
于嗟jiē阔兮，不我活兮。于嗟洵兮，不我信兮。
The general gist of the poem describes a man who is forced into the army to fight in the south and ease tensions between the kingdoms of Chen and Song. He isn’t able to return home for a long period of time and misses his family. They’ve set up camp but the horses weren’t tied tightly and have gone missing. He doesn’t know where to find them. The horse have fled into the woods. He then remembers that with his wife, he also made a promise to never be separated in life or death. He made a promise to her. I would take your hand and grow old together. He then laments their long separation and the unlikeliness of their reunion. He laments that they are too far apart and cannot fulfill his promise.
执子之手，与子偕老 of I will take your hand and grow old together is used in every Chinese drama or romance novel as a line between two lovers who declare their love to each other. I’m honestly shocked that we haven’t talked about this line before. It’s not used today in modern day culture but everyone knows that these two lines come from Shi Jing even if folks don’t know the full poem.
Looking back, hm – I guess it makes sense that we haven’t discussed this phrase yet. It’s typically used by young men to woo young women. For all of our palace dramas, the Emperor wouldn’t be writing this to a concubine.
Now if you ever see this phrase, just remember, it comes from the Book of Songs!
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[Karen]
Next up is a product placement in the episode. Lots of historical costume dramas do have product placements in them but we’ve largely avoided dramas where that was on full display. In today’s episode though, you’ll see that Wan’Er’s maid gives Ling’Er some medicine because she was sneezing and sick. There are three 9’s on the packages and the medicine is called feng han ling which I’m assuming is tied to 999 感冒灵. It is a well known medicine brand in China specifically used for colds.
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Moving on! There’s the hilarious scene where Fan Xian ends up making himself like a egg mcmuffin with a Man Tou + Eggs. He’s over there humming the Colonel Bogey March from the 1957 movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. I’m surprised the screenwriters chose that specific tune because the drama currently isn’t a war epic yet and we haven’t talked much about WWII, which is when the movie is set. I guess they just liked the tune.
While Fan Xian is making his sandwich, Teng Zi Jing is manning a small millstone and grinding what looks like soybeans into soy milk. The process is rather simple, put the soybeans in the millstone or grindstone and add water. Then turn the millstone so that it grinds the soybeans with the water to create the extract. Teng Zi Jing has a rather small millstone that’s used for more personal or one off use. In farms today, people in China still use these millstone types of millstones to grind various types of grains or beans together. The use of the millstone and soybeans is a crucial step to creating tofu!
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[Cathy]
Li Hong Cheng, cousin to the Princes, show up and Fan Xian welcomes him by saying 老李, 吃了吗? Or Old Man Li, have you eaten? Li Hong Cheng expresses that he’s never heard of the phrase. 老李 or saying 老 Old to a person who is of the same age is sign of friendship. Kind of like in English – hey mate! Or Hey Old Buddy. I think this is a more northern way of expressing friendship. One also uses it as a way to describe an older person but in a more familiar way. Such as oh hey – Old Man Li, how’s your day going? But in this context, it would be an older person addressing an older person. I would never use that phrase to address an elder. Obviously a member of the aristocracy would never hear this phrase spoken to him but it’s used quite often in China. The next part, Chi Le Ma directly translates to did you eat yet? But in modern day Chinese colloquial terms, it also is just a normal greeting almost akin to Hey. Instead of saying Ni Hao or Hi, people will say Chi Le Ma as a greeting. Almost like, How’s It Going or What’s up. This primarily comes from the northern region of China. Beijing folks use this quite often.
[Karen]
Next, in another conversation between Fan Xian and Teng Zi Jing. Fan Xian mentions the phrase 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 and asks Teng Zi Jing if he knew its origins. Teng Zi Jing responds that he knows of this phrase and only that its origins are from a distant past. Fan Xian then observes that some phrases from our current world do exist in the world of Qing Yu Nian but the history is all jumbled. That also addresses several of the inconsistencies in the overall world.
近朱者赤，近墨者黑 – this phrase essentially translates to – as something get closer to cinnabar, it becomes red. As something gets closer to ink, it becomes black. Zhu means Zhu Sha or Cinnabar, which is of a red color. Mo or ink is black. This phrase means – if one surrounds himself or herself with righteous people, he or she will in turn learn good. If one surrounds himself or herself with deviants, he or she will turn into a deviant. The phrase reflects that the environment surrounding a person plays a crucial role in impacting said person.
The phrase was originally coined by the Jin Dynasty official 傅玄. The Jin Dynasty ruled from the 3rd century CE to the 5th century CE. 傅玄 was a well respected scholar and official at court and asked by the EMperor to teach the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince had many people at his manor, including maids, eunuchs, and his own set of officials. They all acted to please the Crown Prince, so much so that the Crown Prince spent his days playing rather than focus on his studies. Fu Xuan recognized this and noted that in such an environment, it would be extremely difficult for the Crown Prince to learn anything.
One day during class, Fu Xuan explained to the Crown Prince that if he wanted to be a good emperor, then he should surround himself with intelligent and righteous people. For example, if something gets close to a cinnabar, then it becomes red. If it touches ink, it becomes black. Fu xuan then goes on to state that the Crown Prince must set that example for others too. He said a bunch more examples and word got to the Emperor. He was very pleased with this phrase of 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 and had it written on a folding screen that was placed in the Crown Prince’s room so that he could view it every day. This folding screen would be called 太子少傅箴zhēn or the advice from the Crown Prince’s teacher.
[Cathy]
Lastly, when Fan Xian leaves, Teng Zi JIng makes a comment about Fan Xian’s choice of clothing, to which Fan Xian retorts – 土鳖. Tu Bie is actually a wingless cockroach, which freaked me out when I was doing some googling. But no, we’re not talking about cockroaches. Tu Bie – the phrase actually originates from the 2013 movie American Dreams in China 中国合伙人. In the movie, the character of 成东青 played by Huang Xiao Ming, is a self proclaimed 土鳖.
It’s a derogatory term used to describe a person who is uncultured or hasn’t seen much of the world. We’ve talked about 土 before in episode 7. 土 literally means dirt but it is often used as a derogatory term to mean something is low or uncultured or out of fashion. It often is mentioned in relation to peasants or farmers as a slight to them to say that the topic, item, or person is uneducated or uncultured. 土鳖 is another way to express this disdain. You use it when you want to say to someone – 土鳖 or this person is uncultured.
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Lastly – let’s move onto book differences! In the book, it actually spends more time focusing on getting the book shop idea up and running rather than the relationship between Lin Wan Er and Fan Xian. He does sneak into her room and they do talk but we really don’t get much of Lin Wan Er’s perspective, unlike what we have in the drama. In the book, it’s a quick chapter of Fan Xian prioritizing on treating Lin Wan Er as a patient and some time passes where Lin Wan Er actually gains a few pounds from eating more protein.